Detroit and the New Economics, or maybe Detroit does not have anything to regret

A quick addendum to my Detroit post, from Holman Jenkins of the WSJ, Detroit’s Bankruptcy Is So 1990s which is subtitled, When we reach the promised land, quantitative easing will be for everybody. Jenkins say, “Under the new economics, it’s possible to have losses without anybody recognizing losses.”

Isn’t that good news? Here’s a sample of Jenkins’ modest proposal,

Undoubtedly we can look forward to a column from Paul Krugman lamenting a “false consciousness” in the Obama administration, which has lately fallen under the sway of old-style economics, with its obsolete view that money shortages are real.

Mr. Krugman may point out that, though white, Ben Bernanke is getting a bad rap. Mr. Bernanke is currently making available on a monthly basis $85 billion through QE to relieve any potential money shortages of the federal government. Detroit’s money shortage (its debt) is less than $20 billion in total. Mr. Obama could fix this with a snap of his fingers, much the way he fixed GM’s money shortage.

He would simply give Detroit $20 billion to pay off its debts, and Detroit would give back nothing in return, and the $20 billion “loss” to the U.S. taxpayer would be made up out of the $85 billion the Fed will be giving us next month. And so on.

It’s a miracle. Read the whole thing, though, yes, race has something to do with it, as it has apparently to do with everything in America these days.